Violin with timbre bass bar



a -mmw an 6,, 1970 SKY VIOLIN wmx 'rmsma BASS am Filed May 9, 1968 amvemcm MICHAEL mmsnw ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,487,740 VIOLIN WITH TIMBRE BASS BAR Michael Tansky, 541 Olive Ave.,

Long Beach, Calif. 90812 I 3 Filed May 9, 196 8, Ser. No. 727,774

' j Int. Cl. Gd 1 02 s. or. 84-276 i 6 Claims Background of the invention This inventionrelates to stringed instruments, and more specifically 'to'a novel form of similar instruments.

Stringed instruments, particularly those of the violin family, employ a bass bar which is fixed to the inner surface of the belly of the instruments sound box. Normally the bass bar is mounted below the bridge parallel to one of the strings. It functions to support the belly of the instrument against the force applied by the tensioning of the strings.

It is well known that the particular configuration of the bass bar is a significant factor in the tonal qualities of the instrument because the sound producing vibrations from the strings travel from the bridge through the belly of the instrument, which forms part of the sound box. Bass bars of the prior art which have been formed with special shapes to improve the quality of the instrument are disclosed in Patent Nos. 155,333; 661,412 and 1,881,311. Each of the bars in the aforementioned patents have been formed with one or more openings in the body of the bar which extend completely through the bass bar and face the sidewalls of the sound box.

Summary The preferred embodiment of the present invention, which will subsequently be described in greater detail, is a violin having a sound box including a belly and a back and with a string supporting bridge mounted on the outer surface of the belly in order to support the four strings which conventionally are mounted over the belly. The preferred bass bar is elongated and mounted on the inner surface of the belly below and parallel to the strings. The bass bar extends the major part of the bellys length in order to support it against the force through the bridge caused by the tensioning of the strings. The inner longitudinal edge of the bass bar is formed with a continuous series of conical cavities arranged in three groups. The cavities in each group have a conical cross-section and face the back of the instrument. The first group extends from one end of the bass bar toward its midsection, the cavities in the second group extend through the midsection and the cavities in the third group extend from the second group to the opposite end of the bar. The cavities in the first and third groups have a common size which is smaller than the cavities in the midsection of the bar.

In addition to resisting the force caused by the tension of the strings on the bridge to prevent cracking of the belly, the preferred bass bar obviates tuning the instrument after it has been initially tuned. The small holes or cavities multiply the finer tones of the instrument so that it has improved tonal properties with respect to violins employing conventionally shaped bass bars.

bass bar for violins and 3,487,740 Patented Jan. 6, 1 97Q "ice Still further objects and advantages or the present invention will readily become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains on reference to the following detailed description.

Description of the drawing The description refers to the accompanying drawing in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views in which:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the sound box of a violin showing the bass bar embodying my invention; U

FIGURE 2 is a view of the preferred bass barseparated from the instrument as along one of its longitudinal edges; s I

FIGURE 3 is a view of the opposite longitudinal edge of the preferred bass bar; and I I FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of' the mid-section of the preferred bass bar. i

Description of the preferred embodiment 'Now referring to the drawings, a preferred violin is illustrated in FIGURE 1 as comprising a sound box, generally indicated at 10, having a neck 12 which terminates in a scroll (not shown) and a peg box (not shown) in a conventional manner. A finger board 14 is mouted on the neck 12 and extends partially across the belly 16 of the instrument. A tail piece 18 extends from the opposite end of the belly in the conventional manner. A bridge 20 is mounted on the outer surface of the belly 16 and adapted to support four strings 18 which extend across the belly 1-6 of the instrument from the tail piece 18 to the peg box. The belly 16 of the instrument is spaced from a back 22, both being bowed in cross-section in the conventional manner.

The preferred bass bar 24 is mounted on the inner surface of the belly 16 below and parallel to the strings 18. The bass bar is elongated and extends the major portion of the length of the belly 16 so that it provides support to the belly as the strings 18 are tensioned. The bass bar 24 is, like the other components of the violin, formed of a suitable wood and has a slight taper from its midsection toward its opposite longitudinal ends.

The bass bar has three groups of cavities generally indicated at 26, 28 and 30, formed in a continuous series and regularly spaced along its inner longitudinal edge, the cavities in each group facing the back of the instrument. Each cavity has a conical cross-section and extends about half the thickness of the bar. The cavities in the first group 26 and the third group 30 have a common side. The cavities in the intermediate group 28 are all similar in size but larger than the cavities in the groups 26 and 30.

As best seen in FIGURES 3 and 4, each cavity in the intermediate group 28 bulges out from the opposite sides of the bass bar as at 32 and 34.

A sound post 36 is mounted between the inner, longitudinal edge of the bass bar 24 and the back 36 to transmit string vibrations from the bridge 20 to both the belly 16 and the back 22 of the instrument.

The relatively novel configuration of the preferred bass bar 24 provides a better quality of tone, and longer tone vibrations than conventional bass bars and eliminates tuning which is customarily necessary after the initial tuning. The many tiny holes, or cavities, along the inner edge of the preferred bass bar multiply the fine tones of the instrument and give it great power, loudness, or a soft pianissimo tone. They make the instrument very sensitive and improve the resonance of the belly of the instrument with respect to the resonance of the strings. The bar also prevents the belly top from cracking.

Although I have described but one embodiment of my invention it is to be understood that various changes and revisions can be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. v I claim: I

1. In a stringed instrument having a sound box with a bellyand aback, the combination comprising:

(a) a bridge mounted on the outer surface of the belly; (b) a plurality of strings over said belly with sections intermediate each of their ends supported by the bridge in spaced relationship with the outer surface of the belly; and (c) an elongated bass bar mounted on the inner surface of the belly parallel to said strings, said bass bar having a plurality of cavities aranged along its inner longitudinal edge, each of said cavities facing the back of the sound box. 2. The combination as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said cavities has a conical cross-section.

. 3. The combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said cavities are arranged in three groups disposed in a continuous series between the opposite longitudinal ends of the bass bar, including a first group extending from one end toward the mid-section of the bass bar, a second group extending from the first group and through the mid-section of the bass bar, and a third group extending from the second group to the opposite end of the bar, the cavities in the first and third groups being of one size and the cavities in the second group of another size.

4. The combination as defined in claim 3, wherein the cavities in the second grouparelarger in size than the'cavities in the first and third groups.

5. The combination as defined in claim 3, wherein the first and third groups of cavities have an unequal number of cavities.

6. The combination as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said cavities has a conical cross-section and they are arranged in three groups formed in a continuous series between opposite longitudinal ends of the bass bar, including a first group of similarly shaped cavities extending from one end of the bass bar toward its mid-section, a second group of similarly-shaped cavities extending from the first group and through the mid-section of the bar, and a third group of cavities extending from the second group toward the opposite end of'the bar, the cavities in the first and third groups having a similar size, smaller than the cavities in the second group, and the first group having a different number of cavities with respect to the second group.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 97,262 1924 Austria.

RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner JOHN P. GONZALES, Assistant Examiner 

